23 layered salad recipes

Badrijani Sunelebit is a classic Georgian dish of golden pan-fried eggplant slices layered with fresh basil, raw garlic, and white wine vinegar. Served cold as a salad or side.

A classic Persian eggplant salad layered with golden fried slices and cool, garlicky yogurt. Topped with chopped walnuts and served chilled, this borani is a showstopping appetizer or mezze spread.

Chilled pasta shells layered with basil pesto, spinach, Roma tomatoes, black olives, and shrimp. This make-ahead Italian pasta salad is a crowd-pleasing potluck star that only gets better as it sits.

Raw fennel, mushroom, and shaved Parmesan salad with a garlic-lemon vinaigrette and crushed fennel seeds. Mushrooms marinate for an hour, then get layered with paper-thin fennel and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Caprese salad: fresh mozzarella and ripe summer tomatoes layered with torn basil, dressed with red wine vinegar and good olive oil. The Italian classic that proves three ingredients are sometimes enough.

A stunning cold Chinese platter of shredded vegetables, wood ear fungus, egg strips, and hand-pulled chicken, layered and dressed in a mustard-ginger-sesame-Chinkiang vinegar sauce. A showpiece salad for special occasions.

A layered no-bake caviar pie built in a springform pan: egg salad base, chopped scallions, whipped cream cheese and sour cream, crowned with black and red caviar. The ultimate make-ahead appetizer for holiday entertaining.